Chapter 4: Duel in the Sun

A black anger overwhelmed me as I recognized Colin MacPherson on the blanket with Roxie. Spurring Red towards them I dived at MacPherson as soon as I got close enough. I wasn't in any mood to play nice and I caught him with my knee in his chest just as he was rising up. Thinkin' that had finished him I was dismayed to find out he was a lot tougher than I'd expected.

I turned towards Roxie to say somethin' but I never got it out. MacPherson's hand grabbed my shoulder and swung me around. His hard fist landed squarely on my nose and I felt it break, blood gushing down my chest. He slammed another hard punch at my stomach and I was able to back away just enough to prevent him winnin' the fight right then. Catchin' his arm I swung him around and onto the ground. I tried to kick him but he rolled into me and we both tumbled towards the river.

Shaken and staggerin' we eyed each other. He gave me a malevolent, icy glare and I realized just how evil he was. This would be a fight to the finish for one of us. I considered myself a good brawler but MacPherson turned out to be a good boxer. Now that he had time to gather himself, he started making mincemeat of my face. He had a wicked left jab that left its mark each time it rocked my head.

I moved in close and was able to get under his fists. It didn't look like he was a workin' rancher. He was in good shape but I had been doing much harder work than him for years. A steady hammering of his stomach and a hard fist over his heart put him on the ground again. Standing there, trying hard to get air into my lungs, I watched him pull himself to his feet.

We started dancin' around again, him trying his jabs with an occasional successful one at my head. Me, I was just doin' my best to stay out of his way, backin' up and tryin' an occasional counterpunch. He was getting' winded and if I could stay out of his way I knew I had this fight won. Through all this, I could hear Roxie screamin' in the background but I had no idea of what she was sayin'.

Confidence was good, but it was misplaced. I stumbled over a rock straight into a vicious right hook. Fallin' down in a daze, I tried to cover up but he was too quick. He kicked me several times in the ribs and the pain was terrible. The fight would have been over but he was weakening and his last kick was slow enough for me to grab his leg. I jerked it up and pushed and he fell hard on his back. The whooshin' of the air from his lungs told me I had a chance. As he rose to his knees, tryin' desperately to catch his breath, I made it to my feet. Staggerin' closer to him, I kicked as hard as I could right in his gut.

Fightin' down the sharp pain in my ribs and givin' it my all I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Measurin' him carefully I put everything into one last punch. Two things happened; I broke my fist and his jaw. He collapsed, falling head down in the river. Stunned with pain and exertion I stood and watched the current pullin' at him for a few seconds, then turned and made it over to Red. I don't know how I made it up on his back and I never had a thought as to whether MacPherson was dead or not.

The pain in my ribs and hand caused me to black out. I was not aware of anything until I woke in my bed with the sun streamin' in the window. Someone had bound my ribs tight and wrapped my hand and nose. Candy was sittin' there lookin' at me. Not havin' the energy, everything was still hazy from the pain, I didn't try to say anything to her — just stared.

She was quiet for a minute then blushed, and said, "How do you feel?"

Tryin' to respond I started coughin'. Candy helped me drink some water. "Awful. Who fixed me up?"

She blushed again, "I did. Bud helped me. Mom and dad were in town. What happened?"

I sure didn't feel like talkin' with her about it. "Nothin'."

"Well, Bud said that Colin MacPherson was near to dead and has a broken jaw. Besides the places I wrapped, your face looks like a horse kicked it. Somethin' must have happened!"

I didn't respond to that, just turned my head and looked out the window. It seems that Roxie had cared enough about him to pull his head out of the river. A few minutes later, I heard the door close. Without realizin' it, my eyes closed and I fell asleep. It was dark when I woke. I reached over for my pants and took the ring out of the pocket. Holdin' it up to the dim lamp, I watched the play of light as I turned it. There was a tap on the door and Bud came in.

He saw the ring and his eyes got big. "Was that for Roxie? Damn, she really screwed up. I went over to see the folks and she told me what happened. She says she didn't meet him there — that she was out ridin' and stopped to sit there and enjoy the day. Then MacPherson came along and she says she don't know for sure what happened."

Muttering, I said, "It don't make much difference one way or another how it happened. It did and that's that."

Bud didn't seem to disagree so we just chatted for awhile. He did add, "One of the riders for my dad was in Steamboat Springs and tol' me he saw Bill Klein."

"Thanks, if you hear any more let me know."

I was in bed for another four days. I had to give MacPherson credit; he could fight. Candy was in every day though we didn't talk much. She would do whatever needed doin' for me but mostly sat and looked at me. In a way, it made me nervous but it was also kinda nice. When she took the bandage off my nose, she started laughin'.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like yore gonna have a crooked nose. Yore still kinda handsome though."

Glenna also stopped in regularly to see if I needed anything or to keep me company. The more I saw her the more I liked her. She was smart and easy to get along with.

I was settin' on the front porch when I saw Mark walk by on his way to supper. I called him over.

"No way will I be able to go up to Walcott to pick my cattle up. Could you grab someone to go get them? Pete already said it was okay. You won't need the chuck wagon and Bud already said he'd go along."

"Sure, Slade. Be glad to do it."

The next mornin', Roxie came over to see how I was.

"I'm sorry for what happened. I don't know what came over me." Wistfully, she added, "Bud said you had a ring for me?"

I didn't know why I did it, but I took the ring out of my pocket and handed it to her to look at. She put it on her finger and held it up to the sun to look at it. I didn't want her to get too attached to it, so I held my hand out.

With a hopeless look and tears in her eyes, she said, "I guess there is no chance for us?"

Softly, I replied, "I'm sorry, Roxie. I'm just not made that way."

She handed the ring back and left after kissin' me on the cheek.

Candy came up on the porch after Roxie rode away and sat next to me. Neither of us said anything, just sat in companionable silence.

Two weeks later, Mark was back with my cattle. He'd left them in the pasture Pete and I had agreed on. I tried to pay him and the boys but they refused. I decided I'd get them a nice present for Christmas. Pete and I rode out and looked them over.

Pete offered, "They are nice lookin' cattle, Slade. You have the beginnings of a fine herd.

The next couple of months were quiet. The weather was turnin' colder and we had some snow flurries but nothin' much stayed on the ground. In mid-November, we started to get some reports of cattle disappearin' mostly on the west side of the basin. I had Kirby head out to scout. He came back a few days later.

"They are hidin' out down around where the coal is in the southwest part of the basin. I followed some tracks and it looks like they are runnin' 'em down to Kremmling to sell."

I thought about it for a while. "But if they go that way, wouldn't they have to cross MacPherson's ranch?"

"Damn straight," he said with a grin. Breakin' Colin's jaw had made me popular with all the cowhands.

I went around and talked to some of the neighborin' ranchers, especially the ones that had been losin' stock. We made our plans and a week later we had their campsite surrounded when the cold light of dawn showed through a wispy winter ground fog. We had them dead to rights and there was no fight.

Several of the men disarmed them and tied their hands. I walked up to Klein. I noticed that he was missin' two fingers on his right hand where I'd shot him. I guessed that he'd been using a rifle on the ambush during the trail drive. He didn't even have a handgun with him now.

"You just don't learn, do you? I don't think yore smart enough to have planned all the rustlin' that's been goin' on. Who was in on this with you?"

"Go ta hell, you bastard!"

"Did MacPherson know you were movin' stolen cattle across his land?"

He stared at me with a stony silence. I tried a couple of the other men but no one was talkin'. I think they knew they were dead and just wanted to get it over with.

We found a couple of thick branches to throw ropes over and one by one put a noose around their necks and swatted their horses out from under them. All but Packrat died quickly. His was lookin' to be a slow painful death. I grabbed my rifle and ended it for him.

We left the bodies hangin' from the cold limbs and slowly rode away, feelin' no regrets. We were as sure as we could be that this would end the problems we'd been havin' with rustler's. Not much was said about the raid on their camp on the way back and no one ever mentioned it to me again.

Candy and I were slowly startin' to spend time together. We weren't doin' much; more than anything we'd sit in the livin' room of the house in the evenings, sometimes with Pete and Glenna. We would talk some but mostly we just enjoyed each other's company. I still hurt from what Roxie had done and I think Candy understood that. She seemed like she had grown a lot the last few months.